The present invention relates to apparatus for separating neighboring sections of a web, strip or tape from each other. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus wherein a web, strip or tape (hereinafter called web for short) consists of or includes neighboring sections which are connected to each other by weakened web portions, e.g., by web portions which have lines of perforations extending substantially transversely of the longitudinal direction of the web. For example, the sections of the web may constitute envelopes or pockets for storage of severed portions of exposed and developed photographic customer films, prints made from photographic films and/or analogous sheet-like commodities. Pockets of the just outlined character are utilized by many processing laboratories to return developed customer films and prints (if any) to dealers or directly to customers.
It is already known to separate successive sections of a moving web wherein the sections are connected to each other by weakened portions of the web by transporting the web lengthwise by two advancing units including a driven front unit and a driven rear unit whose speed is less than the speed of the front unit. Consequently, a weakened portion breaks automatically as soon as it advances beyond the rear unit so that the section ahead of such weakened portion begins to advance at a speed which exceeds the speed of the section behind the weakened portion. The distance between the two advancing units (each of which normally comprises a pair of rollers disposed at the opposite sides of the path for the web) is somewhat greater than the length of a section, as considered in the longitudinal direction of the web. A drawback of such conventional apparatus is that the distance between the front and rear advancing units must be changed whenever a web with relatively short sections is to be followed by a web with longer sections. Moreover, the apparatus are bulky because the distance between the advancing units must exceed the length of a section. All this contributes to the initial and maintenance cost. Also, the operation must be interrupted whenever a web with sections having a first length is followed by a web with sections having a different second length.